for nine years, successive uk governments have repeated promises to revolutionise how we travel by train between the north of england and london. high—speed rail2, or hsz, promised to modernise britain's transport infrastructure, cut travel times and integrate the economies of england's regions. hs2 will still go ahead, but today, the uk government confirms it is significantly watering down the project's ambition by scrapping its entire eastern leg. here was the original plan, in which hs2 connects london with birmingham, manchester and leeds. but as of today, it's been confirmed that the leg between the east midlands and leeds will now be scrapped. and it's also ditching a planned new high—speed rail link between manchester and leeds. instead the government says it's come up with an alternative rail package priced at £96 billion. it promises to upgrade existing train links and build new, but shorter stretches of high—speed track. katy austin reports. this south yorkshire logistics business has been on its own fast journey of expansion, and it's not done yet. the boss hoped hs2 stretching up to leeds would free up much more space on the railways for freight and ease road congestion. i really think that the country needs more rail, more rail infrastructure, to reduce carbon, take more wagons off the road and improve on supply chain demands. the government insists its new plan will still produce faster journey times and add capacity, but deliver improvements sooner. that's not enough for some. if hsz is not going to be arriving in yorkshire in the way it was meant to be arriving in yorkshire, that undermines the local place and that affects businesses of every sector. and therefore, people from all walks of life, whether they're in rail or whatever industry, are upset and invested in this decision. 42 of the £96 billion announced today was already allocated to the first stages of h52, linking london to birmingham and crewe. among the schemes to be funded by the remaining money are the western leg of h52 to manchester and extensive upgrades to other parts of the rail network. two other sections of high—speed rail will be built, but those sections will be smaller and cheaper than under previous proposals. the prime minister nearly missed his train to yorkshire today. once on board, though, he defended the changes. why should people in the north accept less than they were promised? because they're getting _ an absolutely fantastic new system and, yes, of course... it's not quite what they were promised. people who argue that you're better off spending a long time and tens. of billions more carving. through virgin countryside and building whole new lines - everywhere, but what we're doing is doing something that brings the benefits ten years, - or up to ten years faster and delivers much - shorterjourney times. but labour has accused the government of going back on its word. the north of england have been betrayed because the prime minister made two very important promises — hs2 all the way to leeds, a new line, that promise has been ripped up. he also promised northern powerhouse rail, a new line from manchester to leeds, and that plan's been ripped up. the plans have received more of a welcome in some places. so, midlands connect thinks this is a win for the midlands because it will take high—speed trains from birmingham to the east midlands, but also allows us to progress our flagship scheme, the midlands rail hub, which will unlock 11 million seats along the rail network, allowing us to have quickerjourneys from places like hereford, worcester and other cities up and down the midlands. and opponents of h52 are celebrating. is it good news or what? yay! the railway would've torn right through this village near rotherham. in parts of northern england, though, there's a feeling what could've been a golden opportunity has been diminished. katy austin, bbc news. rachael maskell is the labour mp for york central, where the eastern leg of h52 was originally supposed to terminate. so we're recording this interview tonight because you're running off to catch the nine o'clock train from london to your constituency in york, which i checked a little earlier, will take you two hours a0 minutes, so you'll get in just before midnight. what would hs2 have meant to that journey time? well, it would've meant i would've saved 14 minutes on thatjourney, and more importantly, a journey to birmingham, it would've saved 53 minutes. so, clearly we were betrayed by the prime minister at the general election when he promised us not only better connectivity to london, but also to manchester, where we will indeed see an additional four minutes on the promised route because he's cancelled the northern powerhouse rail as well. and it's those east—west connections which matter every day to my constituents. even travelling to leeds, it's going to take an extra two minutes than what the prime minster promised. oh, i know. as a boy from burnley, i've laboured on the trans—pennine route, i can tell you! because of that, ijust had a look today, the journey from liverpool to hull will take you half an hour longer than yourjourney from london to york, and it's half the distance. and that really tells you the difference, doesn't it? well, this is the irony. if you think leads to manchester is about the length of the piccadilly line, and yet we are seeing nearly three and a half times more investment in rail in london and the south east than we are in yorkshire. clearly this is about keeping money in the south and not giving us here in yorkshire the opportunity for economic growth and investment, which is what this must be all about. but are you criticising the plan or are you criticising the broken promises over hs2? because the chair of the transport select committee today, huw merriman, said if you take as a stand—alone commitment, $96 billion, that's a heck of a lot of money. i mean, if you compare it, for instance, to whatjoe biden is spending in the united states, and bear in mind, he's just passed this $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan, they are spending just $66 billion on rail. so, by comparison, the uk's spending an awful lot of money. it is a lot of money, but we must remember that we've just returned from the cop summit, where we have to make that modal shift both for passenger and freight when 31% of emissions comes from our transport system. we absolutely need that investment, and that's why we need things like northern powerhouse rail to get people out of their cars and lorries of our road and freight and passengers onto our rails. i've got to ask you then, given that you took such a beating in the northern constituencies at the last election, what is labour going to offer? well, we set out a comprehensive plan for transport. indeed, it was labelled as the most sustainable transport plan that has ever been produced, and it is that kind of initiative which is not only inspirational, addresses the climate challenges, but also means that people in the north for the first time would have the connectivity that they need. they're the kind of things that labour would have set out at the last general election. we're building on that because we really understand the need not only for the connectivity, but the capacity as well. yes, indeed, ilook forward yes, indeed, i look forward to getting my seat on the way home. the european medicines agency confirmed today that covid infections across europe have risen to such a point, we are now in the grip of a fourth wave. lockdown measures are being considered again in countries where hospitals have been pushed to the brink. the transfer of two patients from the bavarian town of freising to merano in the italian alps is thought to be the first time germany has transferred coronavirus patients to neighbouring countries. here's the graph. this is the confirmed daily cases per million people in slovenia, austria, croatia, slovakia and the czech republic, all of them averaging 1000 new cases a day. germany recorded 65,000 new cases in the last 2a hours. that's their highest daily figure since the pandemic began, though per capita you can see that belgium and the netherlands are faring worse. dr louise ivers is chief of infectious diseases at massachusetts general hospital. she's originally from ireland, so she has good perspective of the situation both sides of the pond. let's start with europe. did we give and what we heard from the european medicines agency, do you think we ever promised what the initial vaccination programme would deliver? i initial vaccination programme would deliver? ~' ., , initial vaccination programme would deliver? ~' ._ ., deliver? i think we may have underestimated _ deliver? i think we may have underestimated our - deliver? i think we may have underestimated our public. deliver? i think we may have - underestimated our public health approach you may have underestimated that we really need to have comprehensive approaches to pandemics. this is not new, we have a note you have to detect disease can prevent it, control it, contain it. there are always multiple steps so it may have been a little bit of a challenge with the messaging of how we were going to get through this. the vaccines to work, of course, but we do see these waves of infections and we are seeing increasing searches of cases both around here and in europe. the obvious difference between europe and the us is the vaccination of children. it is a touchy issue for a lot of people but children can be not schematic and can transmit it. do you think we have been too slow to vaccinate children here? i do you think we have been too slow to vaccinate children here?- to vaccinate children here? i think ou sa to vaccinate children here? i think you say as — to vaccinate children here? i think you say as you _ to vaccinate children here? i think you say as you say _ to vaccinate children here? i think you say as you say children - to vaccinate children here? i think you say as you say children can i to vaccinate children here? i think| you say as you say children can get it and they can get sick and they certainly can transmit it to other people. earlier in the pandemic, there was less data on this and i think initially the message seemed to come out to focus that children were less affected and they do not need to worry about them as much. but you have to look at two extremes here. one is individual protection which we sometimes take measures to approach and you might think my child may not get that sick. however we also have to think about public health, and children definitely are able to transmit as systematic studies show. i think when you think about any part of the response, we cannot to think about vaccinations on their own. if i want to look globally and you asked me as a globe should be vaccinating children first, i would say we should vaccinate more health care workers in the poorest countries who don't have any access to vaccine yet. they should probably go first, but from a regional and local level, i do think it's good to vaccinate children and i think it will help with the overall circulation of the virus and ultimately vaccinated people can get sick. but they are much less likely to die and to be hospitalised with acute still transmitted to other unvaccinated and little people and that's what we're really trying to get a head up. so i do think children should be part of the vaccination programme. angela merkel a - ears to vaccination programme. angela merkel appears to be — vaccination programme. angela merkel appears to be the _ vaccination programme. angela merkel appears to be the only _ vaccination programme. angela merkel appears to be the only senior— appears to be the only senior politician talking of a fourth way but of course she is not running for reelection. i think politicians probably are aware of the pandemic fatigue that is out there but i wonder given that they are invariably blamed for the spikes, are they even though they are kind of the threat, are they wary of talking about it openly and honestly and is that part of the problem? mil and is that part of the problem? fill health is political to some degree always. i do think the pandemic in various countries and various places has been politcised and we certainly saw that in the us. people are tired and they have done their part and many of them think and they want to get through this. the thing is we do have tools. we have so many tools now that we did not actually have a year ago or a year now that we did not actually have a yearago ora yearand now that we did not actually have a year ago or a year and a half ago and what we need to do is to empower and what we need to do is to empower and finance and fund public health agencies to do theirjob and get testing out come of it vaccination out, get ventilation in buildings and so i think politicians could look to their scientists and public health experts and really listen and put the investments and because i think the investments in public health that we need to make right now are going to have to sustain... we have to do it so we can sustain it for the future because it's not going to be the only pandemic unfortunately.— going to be the only pandemic unfortunately. let's compare and contrast into _ unfortunately. let's compare and contrast into the _ unfortunately. let's compare and contrast into the picture - unfortunately. let's compare and contrast into the picture of - unfortunately. let's compare and j contrast into the picture of where you are in the us. looks pretty good a few weeks ago but look at it now. daily cases or most of the map back in the red and of course we are heading to the thanksgiving holiday. i'm wondering actually one of the city seat�*s advisory will look into different how it looked last year. i think we have had some challenges here in our public health messages and i think we did go out very strong first about vaccines, vaccines without enough messaging on how testing and other things need to be part of all of that. obviously the united states with its heterogeneous as there is millions people with 50 states and we have a lot of differences in where surges are happening and vaccination rates and michigan and some other states are really having increases right now where i am in massachusetts, we have a very high vaccination rate but we are still seeing increases in cases. i think what would be sensible and maybe i'm asking the question he did not ask it but will be sensible about thanks giving messaging here would be to help people understand their own risk and the risk they might put others at and give them options. what could you do safely? what can you do safely? how can you use testing and vaccines and masks in a way that allow people to meet with their families was met thanksgiving is an important holiday here and people don't want to miss it again. so i think we have to risk mitigating everybody understand what they can do to stay safe because there are many things we can do.— do to stay safe because there are many things we can do. good advice. doctor can have _ many things we can do. good advice. doctor can have a _ many things we can do. good advice. doctor can have a nice _ many things we can do. good advice. doctor can have a nice thanksgiving i doctor can have a nice thanksgiving and thanks for being with us. thanks very much- — the three defendants on trial for murdering ahmaud arbery after he ran through their neighbourhood in georgia last year have rested their cases, and prosecutors say they will not be calling any rebuttal witnesses. one of the defendants was travis mcmichael, who told the court he acted in self—defence that day. but under cross—examination, he conceded that in his statement to police immediately after the shooting, he'd made no mention of the defence he is now relying on, that arbery went for his gun. prosecutors and relatives say arbery was an avid runner who was out jogging in a neighbourhood a couple of miles from his home. aleem maqbool is watching the case for us and sent this report from the courthouse. well, there is, right now, a very well—attended protest gathering outside this courthouse in brunswick, georgia after the call went out for more than 100 religious leaders from around the country to come and attend. now, inside that courthouse is the trial of three men who were involved in the killing of ahmaud arbery. ahmaud was a 25—year—old african—american who was jogging close to his home when those three men decided he looked like a burglary suspect. they got in their cars, they chased him and they shot and killed him. and during the trial, one of the defence lawyers said they objected to the presence of a high—profile member of the african—american community inside the courthouse, calling them intimidating and somehow putting pressure on the jury. and that's when the call went out for these members of the clergy to come and attend the protest here. all the while, that court case does continue. one of the men involved, in fact the one who shot ahmaud arbery, is currently on the stand in the case that many are referring to as a modern—day lynching. let me play you that audio from court this week which led to that protest today. here is the defence lawyer kevin gough complaining about the reveren al sharpton, who was sitting with arbery�*s parents in the courtroom. how many pastors does the arbery family have? we had the reverend al sharpton here earlier last week. and i'm not keeping track, and i think the court has indicated the court doesn't intend to ask anyone to keep track of who is in the gallery. but i don't know who mrjackson, reverend jackson's pastoring here. my understanding is and i was given names that the arbery family have local pastors. the judge told gough on monday that people are now coming to the courthouse "directly in response" to statements the lawyer had made, statements he said "which i find reprehensible". i should just mention we are keeping a close eye on another closely—watched trial, that of kyle rittenhouse in wisconsin, who shot dead two people and injured a third during protests in kenosha in february last year. the jury is out deliberating for a third day. rittenhouse, like the men in the arbery case, is claiming self—defence. two very highly political cases in america that are about to come back very shortly. we will keep you across that. stay with us on bbc news, still to come, how lady gaga drew on her own experience of abuse to prepare for her role in ridley scott's new film, house of gucci. the former yorkshire cricketer azeem rafiq has apologised and said he is "deeply ashamed" after it emerged he had used anti—semitic language in social media messages ten years ago. rafiq has been at the centre of the racism controversy which has engulfed yorkshire cricket club. our sports presenter gavin ramjaun has the details. we did hearfrom rafiq today issuing a statement of apology after those facebook messages were unearthed. it involves another cricketer on facebook, and he has deleted them to not cause further offence and he put this out on twitter earlier on. he said also that he was 19 at the time and hopes and believes that he is a different person today. so, as you were saying, azeem rafiq very much at the centre of that yorkshire county cricket racism scandal, and he was abused, taunted and made to feel suicidal at the hands of the club which he blamed on institutional racism there. a state of emergency has been declared in british columbia in canada after a major storm cut road and rail links to the city of vancouver. the canadian armed forces have been deployed to help thousands of stranded residents who have been trapped since the storm hit on sunday. as we reported yesterday, one woman was killed in a landslide and two people are missing. katie nicholson is a senior reporter for cbc news and joins us now from abbotsford, british columbia. good to have you with us. tell us what you have seen today. 50. good to have you with us. tell us what you have seen today. so, we have been — what you have seen today. so, we have been here _ what you have seen today. so, we have been here since _ what you have seen today. so, we have been here since the - what you have seen today. so, we have been here since the very - what you have seen today. so, we l have been here since the very early hours and as the sun came up, we saw just widespread overland flooding. first we thought we were near what was a pond but you pull it up on the map and it was actually a part. where i am right now, this is sort of the highway one area that sort of goes around the town. if you just take a look down the road, you will see there is a lot of overland water. this highway, one of the many highways closed right now in parts and really cutting off the food supply, the supply chain between vancouver and the rest of the province, parts of the interior. this particular overpass right here, this was, the water was overtopping this was, the water was overtopping this a few days ago so water has receded a little bit, and now the mammoth task of infrastructure engineers begins. all over the province. there were provincial engineers here today trying to assess this overpass to see whether or not it is still sound and we are hearing there is going to be another press conference on this particular highway and whether or not it is going to be able to open soon. we heard from people, officers who have been driving down there that it is beginning to buckle, so of course this flood has taken a real toll on the infrastructure in this area. in the infrastructure in this area. in the town, the vast majority of dairy farms are in this area, and in the evacuation zone. so a lot of farmers have had to leave their cattle, leave all other animals, a lot of chickens there is welcome so cows and chickens that have been left as the floodwaters moved in. they are quite anxious to get over there and actually see what the damage is, while the losses are and they have no idea. and then there are about four people who have chosen to stay in this area. this is their livelihood, they are third and fourth generation farmers who have refused to leave. today, emergency officials really imploring them to get out of the area while they still can. there is real instability in the floodwaters in this area. that's really been a big concern. there were 11 rescues overnight. these are very dangerous missions people have to undertake, often without a great deal of light or daylight hours are not great here. as the seasons have changed, so emergency responders are working with very limited window. by, working with very limited window. a serious situation and that's a really good show around for us and i can still see it is still raining so clearly immense pressure on the emergency services there in british columbia. thank you for that. and of course when the port of vancouver is close down, that emily has a knock on effect on supplies along the pacific coast. next week sees the release of a new film called house of gucci directed by ridley scott. the singer lady gaga plays patrizia reggiani, who served 18 years in jail for hiring a hit man to kill her former husband and label boss maurizio gucci. to prepare for the role, lady gaga says she drew on the abuse she suffered as a teenager. here's entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba. it was a name that sounded so seductive. in 1998, patrizia reggiani was convicted of arranging the murder of herformer husband, maurizio gucci of the gucci fashion empire. to play her, lady gaga immersed herself in months of preparation. i don't consider myself to be a particularly ethical person. finding the pain the character experienced as a woman in a male dominated world came from her own past. finding the character, though, she says, was helped by drawing on her own painful past. what was the most relevant about my personal experiences, lizo, was the trauma that i have been through in my life, being assaulted when i was 19 by a music producer. i took from every trigger point that i could find, so it was very painful. the singer has spoken in the past about how, before she became one of music's biggest stars, she suffered not one, but multiple sexual assaults, leading to post—traumatic stress disorder. i have complex ptsd. it's multiple incidents. i used all of them, at different times in different moments in the script. it's what i was compelled to do for the role because i thought to myself, well, there's simply no other answer for why she would have her husband murdered. gucci needs new blood. goodbye, 1930s. hello, �*80s! she says the film's director, ridley scott, was constantly concerned that she was immersing herself too deeply into painful memories. reliving your trauma for a character is maybe not the healthiest thing, but i'm a romantic. i have a romance with this script, a romance with my character, a romance with the cast. it was, i think, in a way, therapeutic, in the way that, what he called it was an exorcism. i relived all of this to play her. lady gaga, thank you so much for your time. thank you, lizo. some good films on this christmas need to get to the cinema. stay with us as we go to norway in the next half hour, leading the way unlettered vehicles and i might have mentioned before i already made the switch, so how are they coping? that they have enough chargers? are they suffering from range anxiety? we will find out. good evening. despite a little bit of a ground frost here and there this morning, temperatures have recovered, and actually it's been very mild across the board. and it's going to stay that way tonight and tomorrow, and also mostly dry. the reason for the mild air is because we've got this flow off the atlantic, this wind flow off the atlantic. and the high pressure in the south is keeping our weather fronts at bay. that said, we've still got some rain to come across northern and western parts of scotland, some drizzle with thicker cloud in many other areas, but where we've seen the breaks in the cloud through the day, those will tend to fill in with misty low cloud overnight. so, hill and coastal fog. and it should be milder because we'll have more cloud, which also means we won't have as much sunshine as we start tomorrow morning. it won't be cloudy all the way. there could be some brief brighter breaks, some sunshine coming through east of high ground, shelterer from that south—westerly. but on the whole, there will be leaden and grey skies, misty, murky and pretty damp. but like today, it will be mild. temperatures will be well above where they should be for this time of year. and we may again reach 15—16 east of the grampians. now, it's all change as we go into the weekend. our weather front really takes shape through tomorrow night. and some quite wet weather is forecast tomorrow night for northern and western scotland. for most parts on the mild side. if there are a few breaks in the cloud as we've seen in recent nights, temperatures will drop lower. but it's behind this cold weather front that the arctic air arrives over the weekend to all parts, and it will feel much colder. so, the day of transition on saturday. ahead of that misty low cloud, fog breaking to bring some brighter weather. behind it certainly much sunnier skies, and we will have some showers. that wind really accentuating how chilly it feels. saturday night into sunday, that weather front clears away, so the cold air floods southwards with some showers through the day on sunday. a little bit wintry over the hills, and certainly feeling colder, particularly in this brisk northerly wind. wind—chill factor comes into play. into sunday night, really cold, quite a widespread frost to start our monday morning. we're into that cold air for much of the week. later in the week, it gets colder still with the risk of snow. as ever, we'll keep you updated. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government waters down ambitions for a new high speed rail link — scrapping plans for it to reach leeds. wrongly imprisoned for 26 years of his life — north carolina man dontae sharpe has now been pardoned, i'll speak to him live in the next few minutes. the us considers a diplomatic boycott of the beijing winter olympics in protest against china's human rights record. plus, norway counts the cost of a massive uptake of electric vehicles on its roads — in the form of reduced tax revenue. we'll discuss. for 26 years dontae sharpe was behind bars for a crime he did not commit. in 1994 mr sharpe — a black teenager, just 19 at the time — was arrested and convicted for the murder of a white man in north carolina. for two—decades he maintained his innocence, but remained in prison. that was until 2019, when a pathologist, in court, testified that a version of the shooting given by a key witness in the original trial, was �*medically and scientifically impossible'. there were inconsistencies with the autopsy. mr sharpe was released, but only this week has he been fully pardoned. the bbc has been following dontae's story in a documentary — and here's the moment when he heard the news that he had been exonerated. cheering. you finally get vindicated and you finally prove that all the years you've been telling people i'm innocent. i'm innocent, man. i did not do this. i did not kill this man. i didn't. and you've been saying it and saying it and saying it. it was real but it didn't seem real. i'm joined now from north carolina by dontae sharpe himself — who's been fully pardoned by the state's governor, and caitin swain who is one of his lawyers. dontae, he spent a lot of your life injailfor a dontae, he spent a lot of your life injailfora crime dontae, he spent a lot of your life injailfor a crime you didn't commit. how did you deal with that all those years knowing you innocent? i only think i would have gone mad. innocent? i only think i would have one mad. ., innocent? i only think i would have gone mad-— innocent? i only think i would have one mad. ., , ., ., gone mad. how did you deal with it? i not an: gone mad. how did you deal with it? i got angry a — gone mad. how did you deal with it? i got angry a lot _ gone mad. how did you deal with it? i got angry a lot but _ gone mad. how did you deal with it? i got angry a lot but my _ gone mad. how did you deal with it? i got angry a lot but my faith, - gone mad. how did you deal with it? i got angry a lot but my faith, god i i got angry a lot but my faith, god and my mother. that's how i made it. i got angry, i was full of hate for a while. i was really angry, man. i hated those people. but at the end of the day i had to let it go and i didn't let it go until the last few years rent like got exonerated. back in 1995 ou years rent like got exonerated. back in 1995 you are _ years rent like got exonerated. back in 1995 you are offered the deals for reduced sentence, which you turn down. which takes some courage because you would surely know what the alternative was. was it the stigma for you of being called a killer? was that even in some ways more painful than the sentence itself? , , , ., , more painful than the sentence itself? , , , itself? oh, yes sir. i was innocent, i knewl itself? oh, yes sir. i was innocent, i knew i didn't _ itself? oh, yes sir. i was innocent, i knew i didn't do _ itself? oh, yes sir. i was innocent, i knew i didn't do it. _ itself? oh, yes sir. i was innocent, i knew i didn't do it. i was - itself? oh, yes sir. i was innocent, i knew i didn't do it. i was raised . i knew i didn't do it. i was raised to stand up for i know be right by my mum and i'm knew i was innocent. i didn't want to take a plea for nothing i did. i didn't do it. that's how i was raised and it was beat into me, well, not the into me but said if you don't do summing down own up to it.— but said if you don't do summing down own up to it. your lawyer also had our down own up to it. your lawyer also had your back- _ down own up to it. your lawyer also had your back. the _ down own up to it. your lawyer also j had your back. the teenage witness testified that she had seen dontae kill the white man but a short while after the trial she recanted that statement. why did it take 2a years? you are exactly right. this is a case _ you are exactly right. this is a case that— you are exactly right. this is a case that we could have and should have corrected long ago if the criminal— have corrected long ago if the criminaljustice system was working the way— criminaljustice system was working the way that it is supposed to. here in the _ the way that it is supposed to. here in the state — the way that it is supposed to. here in the state of north carolina. that teenage witness tried over and over again— teenage witness tried over and over again to _ teenage witness tried over and over again to get the truth out. in fact, by the _ again to get the truth out. in fact, by the time — again to get the truth out. in fact, by the time i became involved with this case _ by the time i became involved with this case ten years ago she had already— this case ten years ago she had already attempted to tell the truth multiple _ already attempted to tell the truth multiple times in the courts. it really— multiple times in the courts. it really took the perseverance of dontae — really took the perseverance of dontae and his family and others putting _ dontae and his family and others putting in— dontae and his family and others putting in front of the courts over and over— putting in front of the courts over and overagain putting in front of the courts over and over again this critical evidence _ and over again this critical evidence for the courts to finally do what — evidence for the courts to finally do what was right in north carolina two years— do what was right in north carolina two years ago. we are overjoyed now to see _ two years ago. we are overjoyed now to see the _ two years ago. we are overjoyed now to see the governor of north carolina _ to see the governor of north carolina finally acknowledging this in the _ carolina finally acknowledging this in the state through the form of this pardon of innocence. and we believe _ this pardon of innocence. and we believe this is only the beginning of dontae'sjourney to believe this is only the beginning of dontae's journey to bring about justice _ of dontae's journey to bring about justice in— of dontae's journey to bring about justice in the state of north carolina _ justice in the state of north carolina as he continues his fight and leadership.— carolina as he continues his fight and leadership. yesterday on the programme _ and leadership. yesterday on the programme we — and leadership. yesterday on the programme we covered - and leadership. yesterday on the programme we covered the - and leadership. yesterday on the i programme we covered the decision and leadership. yesterday on the - programme we covered the decision in new york to quash the convictions of two men who had been implicated in the murder of malcolm x. also black men. there are 2800 in inmates, they reckon, who had been wrongly convicted in america. and again, a disproportionate number of them are black men. so i have to ask you, is race the critical factor in this, the reason that it took so long? absolutely. in this case and in so many— absolutely. in this case and in so many cases— absolutely. in this case and in so many cases of wrongful convictions we see _ many cases of wrongful convictions we see that race is a critical factor _ we see that race is a critical factor. dontae was 19 years old, the victim _ factor. dontae was 19 years old, the victim in— factor. dontae was 19 years old, the victim in this — factor. dontae was 19 years old, the victim in this case was a white man. there _ victim in this case was a white man. there was— victim in this case was a white man. there was pressure in greenville north— there was pressure in greenville north carolina to convict someone for this— north carolina to convict someone for this case, anyone. and the target — for this case, anyone. and the target got _ for this case, anyone. and the target got put on a young black man. in target got put on a young black man. in seeking _ target got put on a young black man. in seeking to getjustice for dontae, _ in seeking to getjustice for dontae, what we have found is that it takes _ dontae, what we have found is that it takes a _ dontae, what we have found is that it takes a village, it takes a movement. there have been so many people _ movement. there have been so many peopie who _ movement. there have been so many people who have stood up to fight for dontae and to say that we have to fix _ for dontae and to say that we have to fix the _ for dontae and to say that we have to fix the discrimination that is embedded in our criminaljustice embedded in our criminal justice system — embedded in our criminaljustice system. and we believe we can. we believe _ system. and we believe we can. we believe that — system. and we believe we can. we believe that it is possible when we work _ believe that it is possible when we work together and tell the truth about— work together and tell the truth about the ways that our system is infected _ about the ways that our system is infected by racism still. and you saw it. — infected by racism still. and you saw it, christine, just today and execution — saw it, christine, just today and execution been stayed in oklahoma. we believe _ execution been stayed in oklahoma. we believe that that is one step in the right— we believe that that is one step in the right direction but there is more — the right direction but there is more truth there that needs to be investigated. fora more truth there that needs to be investigated. for a black man who stood _ investigated. for a black man who stood up _ investigated. for a black man who stood up and said i innocent, i did not commit— stood up and said i innocent, i did not commit this crime. he stood up and said i innocent, i did not commit this crime.— stood up and said i innocent, i did not commit this crime. he has been civen life not commit this crime. he has been given life with _ not commit this crime. he has been given life with no _ not commit this crime. he has been given life with no parole _ not commit this crime. he has been given life with no parole today - given life with no parole today hasn't it, by the governor. i've got to ask you, dontae, i interviewed a man many years ago on death row who also said he was innocent. he didn't want other inmates to try and get less time by saying that in some way he had confessed to them. did you have to be very careful in prison about who you talk to and what you did in order to win your appeal? yes, sir. you have to be careful because you have got a lot of guys trying to get out and also you have what we call jailhouse trying to get out and also you have what we calljailhouse informants and liars reallyjust trying to get out of prison to have to be careful what you say. your tour by returning to talk about your with people. sometimes you just want somebody to talk to and somebody to listen to you when the system wasn't listening to uc look to somebody to listen to you. you try to find somebody that you. you try to find somebody that you figure you can trust and talk to. i didn't do this, man, i'm innocent. you need a release, somebody to talk to. 2&1 innocent. you need a release, somebody to talk to.- innocent. you need a release, somebody to talk to. 24 years inside must leave a — somebody to talk to. 24 years inside must leave a man _ somebody to talk to. 24 years inside must leave a man somewhat - must leave a man somewhat institutionalised. you have been out now for a few years. what have you found hardest to adjust to two the way the culture is now is so different, the respect level. the different, the respect level. the different in _ different, the respect level. the different in how _ different, the respect level. iie: different in how people see families, the way families do. when i went in a lot of families always got togetherforfamily i went in a lot of families always got together for family reunions and barbecues and cookouts in things like that and people don't do that stuff no more. and people don't care about each other. i see a lot of road rage and things like that, you know, and just a lack of respect for each other. that's the thing that bothers me the most now is how humanity has changed. interesting. caitlin, let humanity has changed. interesting. caitlin. let me _ humanity has changed. interesting. caitlin, let me very _ humanity has changed. interesting. caitlin, let me very quickly - humanity has changed. interesting. caitlin, let me very quickly finish i caitlin, let me very quickly finish with you, i've not got much time. how do you compensate a man for 24 years of his life? you how do you compensate a man for 24 years of his life?— years of his life? you don't, you don't. years of his life? you don't, you don't- and _ years of his life? you don't, you don't. and what _ years of his life? you don't, you don't. and what we _ years of his life? you don't, you don't. and what we know i years of his life? you don't, you don't. and what we know is i years of his life? you don't, you don't. and what we know is that years of his life? you don't, you i don't. and what we know is that what happened _ don't. and what we know is that what happened on friday, this pardon is one piece — happened on friday, this pardon is one piece of a process ofjustice for dontae — one piece of a process ofjustice for dontae and for others like him who are _ for dontae and for others like him who are fighting to change a system to never— who are fighting to change a system to never do— who are fighting to change a system to never do this to another human being _ to never do this to another human being. what i know is that dontae has taught me so much in the two years— has taught me so much in the two years since — has taught me so much in the two years since he has been back in society — years since he has been back in society he _ years since he has been back in society. he has dedicated his time to service, — society. he has dedicated his time to service, to fighting for the right— to service, to fighting for the right to — to service, to fighting for the right to vote, to supporting others who are _ right to vote, to supporting others who are trying to get out of the system — who are trying to get out of the system that has and trap them. sol would _ system that has and trap them. sol would just— system that has and trap them. sol would just say we are getting compensated all of the time. we are getting _ compensated all of the time. we are getting so— compensated all of the time. we are getting so much value from people like dontae who are giving back to society— like dontae who are giving back to society and he deserves all of the biessings — society and he deserves all of the blessings and this system also needs to have _ blessings and this system also needs to have consequences and accountability when it harms people the way _ accountability when it harms people the way that it is doing and that it has done — the way that it is doing and that it has done in — the way that it is doing and that it has done in this case and in so many like it _ has done in this case and in so many like it thank— has done in this case and in so many like it. thank you for covering this — like it. thank you for covering this. . ., like it. thank you for covering this. ., ,, , ., like it. thank you for covering this. ., ,, like it. thank you for covering this. ., ., ~ like it. thank you for covering this. ., ,, ., ~ like it. thank you for covering this. ., ., ., this. thank you both, thank you for sarinu is this. thank you both, thank you for sparing is your _ this. thank you both, thank you for sparing is your time. _ for viewers watching around the world you can watch the bbc�*s documentary following dontae sharpe's story later this month, justice delayed: the fight for a pardon. and if you're in the uk — you can catch it right here on the bbc news channel on the first weekend of december. the united states says it is considering a diplomatic boycott of next yea r�*s beijing winter olympics. president biden made the comments during a meeting with canada's prime minister, justin trudeau, at the north american leaders summit taking place right now. just to clarify — a diplomatic boycott means athletes would still compete at the games but no government officials will attend. the white house is citing human rights abuses in china, and the threats to taiwan. the bbc�*s anthony zurcher is at the white house for us. it is not exactlyjimmy carter in 1980 boycott of russia but it is still significant.— 1980 boycott of russia but it is still significant. now, and i think the white house _ still significant. now, and i think the white house considers i still significant. now, and i think the white house considers this | still significant. now, and i thinkj the white house considers this a kind of half measure somewhere along the line of showing their disapproval without going as far as punishing the athletes who have been training for years to go to these olympics. there had already been reports of a diplomatic boycott in the media here in the us, so bad and's comments today essentially confirm that. reports said that confirmation could be made as soon as the end of this month. the olympics are only three months away. let's talk about the summit from this week. let's focus on the next president and joe biden. i noticed the mix can president wasn't in glasgow last week, is he concern that mexico isn't doing its part on climate change? i that mexico isn't doing its part on climate change?— climate change? i think that's definitely a — climate change? i think that's definitely a concern _ climate change? i think that's definitely a concern of - climate change? i think that's definitely a concern of us i definitely a concern of us officials, particularly the mexican president has really sported the coal industry in his country, has tried to cut off foreign investments in the energy sector. those foreign investments have been a lot of money flowing into mexico for renewable resources. so i think the united states does want to try to directed more towards combating pipe dream a climate change and emitting methane gas emissions. the other big issue between united states and mexico is migration and the us can't push too hard on the environment because they need mexico's cooperation in order to stem the flow of migrants coming up, particularly from south and central america across the us border. �* ., ., ., border. and what about the other leg of this summer, _ border. and what about the other leg of this summer, they _ border. and what about the other leg of this summer, they just _ border. and what about the other leg of this summer, they just intrude i of this summer, theyjust intrude outside of it? what does canada want outside of it? what does canada want out of the meeting?— out of the meeting? well, trade is or is a big issue _ out of the meeting? well, trade is or is a big issue between - or is a big issue between united states and canada and that's come up again. there is actually one provision in the build back better plan, this social spending package that includes environmental regulations. that could pass as soon as later this month or next month. that is a provision giving subsidies to electric car purchases in the united states bone if they're manufactured in the united states by union labour. canadians look at that as a hindrance on free trade, that is preference for american cars over cars manufactured in canada. and justin trudeau has been very outspoken about that saying it is something that he will bring up in the negotiations today. i5 something that he will bring up in the negotiations today. is it something that he will bring up in the negotiations today.— the negotiations today. is it for all three leaders _ the negotiations today. is it for all three leaders are _ the negotiations today. is it for all three leaders are getting i the negotiations today. is it for all three leaders are getting to | all three leaders are getting to know you exercise. perhaps may be some restoring some trust after the trump years? i some restoring some trust after the trump years?— trump years? i think that is something _ trump years? i think that is something that _ trump years? i think that is something that the - trump years? i think that is i something that the americans certainly want. they want to restore faith in the us as a reliable partner in north america. you have to remember that these three amigos summits, they used to be a regular occurrence but the last one that has taken place was 2016. it is something that the trump administration did not participate in. so i think the goal, as a golf most of biden's from policies, is to try and reassert the united states on the international stage. whether canada or mexico can trust that the biden administration will be able to do that and the biden administration will be around for more than just four years, will be around for more than just fouryears, i will be around for more than just four years, i think that is a big question. four years, i think that is a big question-— question. anthony, good to see. thank you _ question. anthony, good to see. thank you very _ question. anthony, good to see. thank you very for _ question. anthony, good to see. thank you very for that. - stay with us on bbc news. still to come, the climate might be benefiting from drivers switching to electric cars, but the taxman is losing out. we head to norway to hear more. now for something im—pawsible. a couple from birmingham were fe—line bereft when their cat left their canal boat home a decade ago, and didn't return... until now. colin clayton and eva bellamy were paw—sitively overjoyed, when they got the call that �*big ginge' had been found. ben sidwell gets his claws into the story. settling into life back at home after a ten year adventure. big ginge is a cat who has definitely used up most of his nine lives. in 2001, his owners had taken a trip for their honeymoon on the canal boat when big ginge, who they had had since birth, decided to head for dry land. we went to fradleyjunction and he got up one day and he didn't come back, so we went off with posters and knocking doors and calling people... lots of walks. we spent five days looking for him and there was no sign of him, so we had to return back to birmingham without him. after a few months of searching, the couple gave up hope of ever seeing big ginge again. but then last week colin got a very unexpected phone call. they said someone has brought a stray cat in and we've just scanned it and it's chipped and it's called big ginge and it's yours! the call came from this vets in rugeley in staffordshire, who had had him brought into them by the local cats protection. they were so excited and in a state of shock themselves and of course when they saw him they knew him instantly. he knew them. it's magical really, isn't it? the question is, just where did big ginge go? big ginge's travels eventually brought him here to this car park in lichfield and it seems that those living nearby really took a shine to him with some feeding him on a regular basis. but here he wasn't known as big ginge, the locals called him marmalade. ben sidwell, bbc midlands today, birmingham. let's look at some of the day's other news. the trial of more than 20 aid workers who helped migrants reach greece between 2016 and 2018 has been adjourned shortly after opening. they are charged with espionage among other offenses. the judge ruled the court was not competent to hear the case. human rights groups say the trial is politically motivated. the head of the women's tennis association has cast doubt on an email released by chinese state media attributed to tennis player peng shuai. the tennis star has not been heard from since she made sexual assault allegations against a top chinese government official two weeks ago. in the email, ms peng purportedly says the allegations are "not true". oklahoma's governor has halted the execution of prisonerjuliusjones, hours before he was due to be put to death. jones was sentenced to death in 2002 for killing a man in a carjacking incident. he maintains his innocence. his sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment without parole. there had been an outpouring of appeals — and hundreds protested to halt the excution. cast your mind back to this year's superbowl and you may recall there was this ad. did you know that norway sells way more electric cars per capita than the us? norway! well, i won't stand for it. come on. never mind. with gm's new battery we are going to crush those losers. crush them! let's go, america! norway is out eving us. wait, what's this? oh, it's my daughter's birthday. she's really into pirates lately. i don't care. grab an ev, meet me in norway. 0k, can i say goodbye to my family? no. all right. sorry to disturb you but norway is beating us at evs. nah—ah. uh-huh. meet me there in an hour. will's right — norway is miles ahead of the competition when it comes to electric cars. in september, battery—powered electric vehicles accounted for 77.5 percent of all new cars sold in the country. compare that to the uk, where 15 percent of new car sales were electric or the us, where the number much to will's frustration is just under 3 per cent. it's an enviable position to be in, except that it means norway is running out of combustion vehicles to tax. and that's bad news for government coffers. here to discuss is anetta berveh, spokesperson for the norwegian automobile federation. thank you so much for being with us. i have got to ask you, everybody is switching to electric cars, do you have enough electric charges? weill. have enough electric charges? well, ou're have enough electric charges? well, you're actually _ have enough electric charges? well, you're actually putting _ have enough electric charges? well, you're actually putting your- have enough electric charges? vii you're actually putting your finger on the most important question actually when it comes to cars and moving on to electric vehicles. is there enough charges? the charging infrastructure is not been built fast enough. it is not been built fast enough. it is not been built fast enough. it is not been built fast enough charges and charges are not consumer friendly enough. so thatis not consumer friendly enough. so that is one thing that they have to address. ~ ., ., ,., _, address. what about the cold in norwa ? address. what about the cold in norway? because _ address. what about the cold in norway? because the _ address. what about the cold in norway? because the one i address. what about the cold in norway? because the one thing address. what about the cold in i norway? because the one thing i've noticed about my electric car as it doesn't perform as well when it's cold. that's largely because i've got all the heaters on and the windscreen wipers but also the cold doesn't do much for the battery. so how do people fare in sub zero temperatures in norway? well, it is actually against _ temperatures in norway? well, it is actually against all _ temperatures in norway? well, it is actually against all odds _ temperatures in norway? well, it is actually against all odds that - actually against all odds that electric cars have come so popular in norway because you have what you are mentioning now. the cold and also the mountains are generally not what electric cars perform best under. and actually than norwegian automobile federation carry out extensive real—life range test every winter and they have proved that ev is loose a lot of their range underwent a conditions. because of the right set of incentives and taxation exemptions, ev is have still become the number one cause for norwegians to buy because they are given that extra little help all the while the technology is maturing. i'm slightly scarred have to be honest by my youth. my dad bought a vhs and i'm wondering if at the same state because who knows it could be hydrogen, it could be hydrogen instead of electric. do people worry about that? of course they worry about that. i mean, it wasn't that long ago that no region politician advised norwegians to buy diesel cars because that was seen as the most preferable for the local emissions. and now politicians are saying ev is. i think the general difference that people need to be aware of is this is not anything that local politicians in norway, construction is not a reality that they are constructing. it is actually a change that is happening all over the world and in the international car industry. and it is all being driven by the eu emission targets and that is going to pave the way battery electric vehicles but also may be possibly in the future hydrogen. it all depends on what the car industry wants to put their money on in the end. i know the treasury here is concerned about the drop in revenues from fuel duty. in biology counts road duty is not going to fill the gap. has the finance ministry in norway, with the solution? ~ ., ., , , solution? well, we are actually very ha - that solution? well, we are actually very happy that they _ solution? well, we are actually very happy that they decided _ solution? well, we are actually very happy that they decided not - solution? well, we are actually very happy that they decided not to i happy that they decided not to introduce any vat is or additional taxes on tvs this year because we believe that would have been too soon and unpredictable for norwegian consumers for that big a change for. -- ev consumers for that big a change for. —— ev is. but we think by 2023 some taxes might be introduced at some level because in the end electric vehicles, if all car sales in norway... vehicles, if all car sales in norway- - -_ vehicles, if all car sales in norway... vehicles, if all car sales in norwa . ., ., norway... and a surcharge of electric charge _ norway... and a surcharge of electric charge and _ norway... and a surcharge of electric charge and wouldn't. norway... and a surcharge of. electric charge and wouldn't do norway... and a surcharge of- electric charge and wouldn't do it? no, not necessarily. it wouldn't give the amount that the government needs to cover the car taxes really. very interesting to hear how norway is faring. thank you very much for coming on the programme. electric vehicles the way to go. norway, a lot of them are tesla cars in norway i have noticed. i don't know if tesla has a plan in norway but plenty of tesla cars. but obviously they are a long way ahead of the rest of us so we will watch norway closely to see whether they come up with the solutions to some of the problems of transition. we will be back the same time next week. thank you very much for watching the programme. do stay with us. hello there. whilst the remainder of the working week will remain mild, it's all change over the weekend. we're looking at our first sustained spell of frosty weather quite widely by night. there's even snow in the forecast, but at the moment, the reason that it's mild is we're drawing the winds in off the atlantic. that south—westerly�*s been pretty strong in the last 12—24 hours, starting to ease away a little bit on friday. the weather front still in the north will be giving some rain, but the temperatures have been what we're talking about, stays mild, as i say, to the end of the working week, and then they get back and they may well dip further from the middle of next week on as well. but for the here and now, very grey and misty, leaden skies to start our friday. hill and coastal fog around. our weather front in the north keeping us with some rain for north western scotland, some quite heavy rain. but again, temperatures will be well above where they should be, and it should be a milder start, as well, on friday. temperatures then getting up to between 14—16 degrees celsius, the average around nine. through friday night and into saturday, that weather front starts to turn more intense. the rain does, at least, across the north west of scotland. elsewhere, we keep a lot of cloud around, but again quite misty and murky, drizzly around the hills and over the coasts and possibly even some fog to start saturday. but saturday's our transition day, when this cold weather front, true to its name, will introduce this air right the way down from the arctic. so, i think many will see some rain on saturday actually. brightening skies do follow to scotland and later on to northern ireland. ahead of it, as i say, misty low cloud and some quite grey weather first thing, possibly mist and fog. but still relatively mild. it starts to feel colder in the north as we change our wind direction. and actually, behind that weather front on saturday night, we start to get some frosts. so, sunday sees that weather front clearing away first thing from southern areas. brighter skies, good spells of sunshine, but a real rash of showers coming down on that northerly wind, particularly for eastern and western areas. but look at those temperatures, some 4—5 degrees down on what we'll have been used to and accentuated by the wind. and a colder night more widely on sunday night. by monday, an area of low pressure's pushing those weather fronts out of the way, cutting off that supply of arctic air and bringing perhaps a little bit of rain to the north. still cold, though. you can still see around the area of high pressure, but there's a lot of dry weather through the course of monday. temperatures just recovering a little bit across scotland and northern ireland. as i say, we're cutting off that arctic air both monday and tuesday, but at this time of year with the lengthy nights, it still will be cold by night, touch of frost, some mist and fog around. and then when that clears and where it clears, some sunshine and dry weather by day. and then it's change again as we go through wednesday and into thursday. so, this high pressure relinquishing its grip, and low pressure dives down from the north. now, behind it, even colder air is heading in. and, yes, there's a real risk of some wintriness in those showers, even at lower levels in the north. there could be a smattering on the hills further south. and you saw that, some cold nights as well. now, even further ahead, cos we have another area of low pressure, you may have noticed the tightly packed isobars on the one wednesday—thursday, so that wind—chill very significant. and further ahead into next week as well, a really strong wind potentially with some snow potentially even to lower levels, particularly in the north. and it will be much colder by day and by night. so, that's clearly something we are keeping our eye on very closely, and we will, as ever, keep you up to date. as ever, the warnings and the updates will be online. tonight at ten — the government scales back its high speed rail plans in the north of england — labour calls it the great train robbery. the hs2 rail line between the east midlands and leeds has been scrapped. a new route linking leeds and manchester won't be built in full, and bradford misses out altogether. i genuinely believe government when they say they want to level up and they want to invest, but this is a real kick in the teeth for the north. but the government says it's investing £96 billion in track and rail improvements, making journey times faster, sooner. i think that this is a fantastic, this is a monumental programme for rail investment, for commuters, for passengers, in the east midlands, the west midlands, the whole of the north of the country. we'll be getting reaction from commuters and businesses. also on the programme tonight... azeem rafiq — who called out racism against him